Crapaud, Cornwall to be site of ‘medical neighbourhood’
South Shore community has been without family doctor since 2018
After more than three years of advocacy, Crapaud will once again have a family doctor working in the community.
But it won’t only be a doctor.
At the annual general meeting of the South Shore Health and Wellness Inc. on Monday night, Health P.E.I. CEO Denise Lewis Fleming confirmed that the community would be the site of one of P.E.I.’s new medical homes, according to multiple individuals who spoke to The Guardian.
Community members who attended the public meeting were told a physician will work with a nurse practitioner, with their practice divided between Crapaud and Cornwall. Other health professionals, including a chronic disease management nurse, will work in the community as well, with clerical support also provided. The medical home will be located within the South Shore Pharmacy building.
A representative of Health P.E.I. confirmed these details to The Guardian. This collaborative health centre is expected to provide health services for around 2,600 patients who do not currently have access to a family doctor.
"We're feeling good about it," said Lisa Gallant secretary of South Shore Health and Wellness Inc., which operates a walk-in clinic in the same building as the South Shore Pharmacy in Crapaud.
"It was a long time coming, a lot of work by a lot of people. But we have finally found that the government is listening and is responsive to what the population’s needs are."
South Shore communities, including Crapaud, Tryon, Bedeque, Central Bedeque and even Borden-Carleton, were served by Dr. Hendrik Visser until his retirement in 2017. Visser’s patient load was around 2,300 patients. Shortly after this, another doctor began briefly practising in the community before leaving in 2018. Since then, the region has been without a family doctor for the first time in 150 years, according to residents.
P.E.I.’s recently tabled provincial budget included funding for what are being referred to as medical homes and medical neighbourhoods – collaborative medical care centres – in five communities throughout P.E.I. Premier Dennis King has suggested the medical neighbourhoods could providing health care to individuals listed on the patient registry who lack access to a family doctor. King has also suggested it is unrealistic that all Islanders will have a family doctor.
The provincial government has not released details of where these collaborative health centres will be located. The Crapaud location appears to be the first publicly revealed site for this model of health care.
Gallant could not offer specifics about how the new medical home will work or when it will open, noting Health P.E.I. was better placed to provide these details.
While Health P.E.I. confirmed details spoken about at the meeting, the health authority did not clarify to The Guardian how much the physician and nurse practitioner will practise in Crapaud and how much they will practice in Cornwall. The site of the Cornwall medical home has also not yet been revealed.
The South Shore Health and Wellness Inc. had been advocating for health-care services in Crapaud since at least 2018. The group had begun a community recruitment effort for a family physician and had often been vocally critical of Health P.E.I.
But as of Monday, the group’s relationship with Health P.E.I. appeared to have improved.
“We're really hopeful. The tone of the meetings has been very different – much more collaborative," Gallant said.
Gallant said she understood that the new collaborative health practice would be able to take on the 2,300-patient load of Visser, as well as additional patients currently served by the existing walk-in clinic.
“It doesn't cost any more to put the care in Crapaud than it does to put the care in Cornwall. But when you put an operation like that in a rural area, it's a huge economic driver,” Gallant said.
"I think this new model that Health P.E.I. is rolling out makes really good sense and is a better model for the way physicians want to practice now.”